Believing that the government should restrict access to guns has nothing to do with being "babied and coddled by people in power" and everything to do with not wanting to be shot by someone else.
I do feel that a lot of the restrictions on amateur trader have the effect of barring "normal" people from making some of the best investments. I ought to be allowed to fail like the best of them. the catch here is that I don't bear all the risk if I fail. if I lose everything on a stupid trade, I am entitled to lean on my fellow taxpayers for support. some balance needs to be struck between allowing me to fail and requiring other people to pick me back up if I do.
The negative externalies of investment losses are costs to the public safety net, political distraction and the risk of a public bail out if the losses hit critical voting blocks.